Even if the holidays have left you determined to trim your food budget, you don't need to swear off cheese. Bargains remain at Bay Area cheese counters, and I, for one, have resolved to spend a little more time in the coming weeks in search of them.

One good candidate is Leyden (also spelled Leiden), a Gouda-style cheese that the Dutch have been making for hundreds of years.

The town of Leiden has had a dairy industry since the 14th century. Today, most of the production takes place in large factories, although farmstead examples persist. I have never seen or tasted Leiden made on the farm, but I would like to. Apparently, in times past, farmers would wash their feet in whey and then knead the curd by stomping on it. After that practice was outlawed for hygiene reasons, the cheese never tasted the same.

Leyden looks, from the outside, like most other Goudas, a large wheel weighing about 16 pounds (although size can vary), with rounded edges and a wax coating. But inside you will immediately notice the Leyden signature: a generous sprinkling of cumin seeds, and sometimes caraway as well.

Another factor distinguishing it from traditional Gouda is the fat content. Leyden is produced with partly skimmed cow's milk, not whole milk, although you are unlikely to perceive it as less rich. The young Leyden wheels available here have a smooth, creamy, pale gold paste, with cumin as the dominant aroma.

With its strong seasoning, said to be a legacy of the Dutch spice trade, Leyden is an excellent go-to cheese for winter dishes such as grilled cheese or ham-and-cheese sandwiches, souffles, cauliflower in cheese sauce, or macaroni and cheese.

You could make a wholesome ploughman's lunch, the English pub classic, with whole-grain bread, a chunk of Leyden and some pickled vegetables. A spicy, creamy ale would fit right in. I opened an Anchor Steam Christmas Ale to enjoy with some Leyden last month and decided I had found the cheese's perfect partner.

Look for Leyden at Whole Foods, Draeger's and other well-stocked cheese counters, where it usually runs $12 to $14 a pound.